I am lock challenged. When I was growing up in Murdo, I didn’t have to lock anything. We didn’t lock our house. I don’t remember even having a key to the house. Jimmy from up the street used to come to our house and watch television whether we were home or not.
We didn’t lock the car, the Motel, and definitely not our suitcases. Why would someone lock a suitcase anyway? If someone wanted to steal something inside, why wouldn’t they just take the whole suitcase?
This freedom from having to lock things was hard to give up. Locking things became a real problem for me. My first experience of locking myself out was when I was staying with my brother and his wife in California. They had a nice apartment on the ground floor not far from my summer job. The building was small, so the apartment had lots of windows, which turned out to be a good thing.
The first time I locked myself out, I walked around the building and found the window to the bathroom of the appartment I needed to break into. While trying to pry the screen off, it ripped just a little. That was too bad, but it did make the reach to the inside easy enough that I could sort of pry the window open. Once I got in, I tried to get everything back together, and felt it was good enough that no one would see it. As it turned out, I got into the house through the bathroom window all summer, and as far as I know, they were never robbed.
I think, (at least I would like to think), I remembered to tell them about the broken screen when I moved out.
Fast forward several years. I’m a slow lock learner. I would go by myself to 3k and 10k races that were pretty close to home. You have to remember, it was much different before electric garage door openers and cell phones. There was a key for the car door and another for the ignition. One Saturday, I went to a race and did as I saw others do. I took the key to the car door off the key chain and tied it up in my shoelace. That way I could lock the rest of the keys in the car. It worked great. I got into the car easily enough and drove to the store. When I finished my shopping and came back to the car, I had the keys to the ignition, but the door key was laying on the front seat. Right, I couldn’t get into the car. I had to call a locksmith.
I had a job in sales, and while I was out calling on customers, I had to stop every few hours and return phone calls. It was still before cell phones, so I knew where every payphone was. This particular day I stopped at Tom Thumb. I had a run in my hose and had to buy new ones. The pay phone was right outside the lady’s room, so I took my folder and called my office to get my messages. I took the folder with the keys on top of it in with me to change. when I was ready, I leaned over to flush and WHOOSH! My house key, car key, my son’s apartment key, and I don’t remember what else went down to live with the sewer rats. I screamed and the woman in the next stall screamed too. There I was at Tom Thumb, and couldn’t do anything because I didn’t have a key. I used the payphone and finally got a hold of my son who had just moved into his own apartment. I prayed he still had a key to our house. He did. I heard him yell to his co-workers. “I have to go to Tom Thumb and get my Mom, she flushed all of her keys down the toilet.”
I got home, got my extra set of car keys and took the key we had stuck in the inside of the back door so I could get into the house later. I intended to get a copy made and put the key back, but I ran out of time. Later that evening my husband asked where the key to the back door was. When I explained, he said he had never heard of someone flushing their keys. I agreed that it was strange. After all, sometimes you have to flush 3 times to get a Kleenex to go down. I now just had one set of keys. I hadn’t made it to wherever I had to go to get another car key made. Those things cost about $40.00 back then, but so did the locksmith.
I started out with two sets of keys. A week or so later… It’s very early in the morning and I am at the airport. I pull up to a place outside the airport, where they park your car and you take a shuttle to the terminals. I pulled up, got in the trunk, and got my golf bag and suitcase out, then I got on the shuttle. I looked out the window and there was a guy motioning to me. It looked like he was saying he needed my keys. I drug my clubs and suitcase and got off the shuttle. After searching through my purse, I finally realized I must have locked my keys in the trunk. It’s 6:30 a.m. My car is right in the way of every other car trying to get in. I called my husband, who was still at home, but 45 minutes from where I was. He said something like,”I don’t know what you want me to do. You don’t have anymore keys.” I was distraught to say the least, and he wasn’t being very helpful. I told him I could get into the car, just not the trunk. He said to try opening up the glove compartment and push the button that opens up the trunk. In all fairness, it was a company car and not every car has that button. I got some looks as I got back on the shuttle that had been nice enough to wait for me.
Except for my brother’s apartment, all of the things I just told you about happened within a few weeks. I would like to say I have never had another problem with keys or locks, but I would be lying. It has helped to have a cell phone and an electric garage door opener. I can now make it through most days. Well, unless something totally unrelated happens.
Those 70ish Girls 
Remember the 1961 DakotaTerritory Centennial. It was like a huge birthday party. Then G&G’s 50th celebration(s) too.
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Yup..I wrote about the 2 50th’s and the Centennial, although, I was only 5 0r 6 for the latter. They are back in the blog archives somewhere. Did your family come back for the Centennial Bobby?
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Oh ladies!! I would be honored to share a microphone with you both, any place and any where, but would I be an asset or a detriment? Regardless, it would be an incredible experience that I look forward to!!
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You would be an asset Mari. We need someone who can sing. We can’t sing, but we make up for it in volume and Val’s moves.
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Yup! That’s right!
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You’re too much, just too much. MG- I am willing to let you have the microphone and I will sing backup if I can wear my crown.
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I don’t think it will stay on your head with all that groovy dancing you do! I was impressed!
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I tried unlocking a car just like mine in a parking lot and wondered why my key wouldn’t work.
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That explains it. I got in Mary’s dads car once and was waiting for my mom. The car smelled like cigar smoke not cigarette smoke and that is how I figured I was in the wrong car. We didn’t lock cars in Murdo.
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That’s a good one! We need a night where we just share car and key stories.
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Did you really do that?
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Yes. Your dads car and my moms car were both the same color (light green) and the same model (ford) and the same year (1961). I was sitting there thinking something was different about this car. It was sitting in front of Sanderson’s store.
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I remember your Mom’s car, but I can’t remember Dad’s. It’s funny..I hate the smell of cigarettes, but I don’t mind a little whiff of smoke from a good cigar. Billy smokes one once in a while.
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Didn’t Billy try to teach you how to get into your car with a coat hanger? Or was that me?
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Great story! Almost everyone can relate to this!😜😜😜
Sent from my iPhone
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Thanks Country girl..hope your day went well!
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Really funny Murdo Girl. I think we all have been key challenged at one point. My first date with Stephanie I locked the keys in the car at Draper after roller skating. That should have told her something right there. However one has to find their car first.
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Yes..the car. Kip once caught me wandering around the Walmart parking lot looking for my car. Did your roller skates need a key?
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As a matter of fact they did! And I got a second date.
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Good for you 07
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Teasing you about noname😄
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The Melanie song referenced by the Queen picture makes me want to meet Val somewhere and have a song fest all over again!!
You are just “occasionally” keyless as your gray matter is working beautifully as always. Your posts are witty and charming as always, Murdo Girl!!
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Some days are better than others Mari…I’m talking about the grey matter. Val’s got some mean dance moves too! I’m going to have to try that Zumba!
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I repeat- Mary, you & Mari and I need to sing loud and dance either in a Karaoke bar or in a parking lot or at Cynthia ‘s.
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I know!! I don’t care where we go as long as I get a microphone!
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